Charleston’s first Poet Laureate, Marcus Amaker, today announced his tenth book, Hold What Makes You Whole. The book is a 200-page, pocket-sized, full-color poetry collection about jazz, Blackness, self care, fatherhood, Star Wars, social justice, music, and memory.
Hold What Makes You Whole is a compilation of new and repurposed poems. Amaker, an award-winning graphic designer, complemented the collection with family photos and handwritten notes.
Along with the audiobook and e-book, the project also features short films, two full-length albums, and an interactive website.
“This book happened as I started to break up with the things that weren't good for my mental health,” Amaker said. “I focused on having intense periods of self care, on reprocessing trauma and storing that energy on paper instead of in my bones. I wrote Hold What Makes You Whole while giving myself grace and communing with people who know the benefit of sitting with joy. I can thank my wife and daughter for all of it.”
On the cover of the book is Amaker's great-great aunt Ruth Robinson, a poet and community leader who published her first book at the age of 65. Robinson passed in 2020 when she was 94 years old.
“Aunt Ruth and I had regular conversations right up until her passing,” Amaker said. “I feel happy to honor her this way, and it's an honor to introduce you to her Spirit.”
The paperback, audiobook, and e-book will be released on April 4, 2023. Amaker is celebrating the release with a series of tour dates in Charleston, which you can see below. The book release party will be April 4th at the Charleston Music Hall. Pre-orders are available at NewPoetryBook.com
TOUR DATES
January 20, 2023
April 4, 2023
April 8, 2023
April 27, 2023
May 12, 2023